Nexus 7 2 vs Nexus 7: What's the difference?

The second-generation Nexus 7 has now been announced - by Best Buy at least - but what's different from the original Nexus 7 and should you be rushing to upgrade your Android tablet? We look at the differences between the two devices to find out.

Display

The new Nexus 7 has a vastly improved screen that sees the resolution jump considerably over the pervious version. The Nexus 7 2, as we are calling it, has a resolution of 1920 x 1200 compared to the original Nexus 7 resolution of 1280 x 800. For those who like to compare ppi - pixels per inch -that's 323ppi compared to 216ppi. In contrast, the iPad mini with its 7.9-inch screen has a resolution of 1024 x 768 and a 163ppi. Owned.

Size, weight, and design

It's the same size screen as before, but the new model has changed shape ever so slightly and is now lighter too. Measurements of the new Nexus 7 are 7.62mm x 200mm x 114.3mm compared to 10.45mm x 198mm x 120mm. Weight has also been reduced in the new Nexus 7, but by only a fraction. It's now 23g lighter at 317g compared to 330g previously.

For those who like to show they've got the newer Nexus 7, the Nexus logo found on the back is bigger and now reads when in landscape mode rather than when you hold the device in portrait mode. A small detail, but a handy one to point out to people when you are gloating at them for having last year's model.

Specs

Faster, speedier, and a return to Qualcomm is the short answer. On the processor front, Nvidia has been dumped in favour of a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor - 1.5Ghz compared to 1.2Ghz before - and the RAM has also been doubled. The increased RAM, which is now 2GB instead of a single GB, means apps should load faster and the device be zippier overall. Internal memory remains the same at 32GB. Battery for the new Nexus 7 2 hasn't been confirmed yet, but it is expected to be the same: 4,325mAh.

Android

A new device means a new version of Android. The Nexus 7 2 gets Android 4.3 instead of Android 4.2. That brings with it new tricks and features, some of which we are still learning about. Don't panic, all your favourite Android apps that you used before should work, but some (like Sky Go) will probably need to be updated before you can use them on the new device.

Conclusions

As you might have guessed, the Nexus 7 2, or second-generation Nexus 7, or Nexus 7 (2013), is quicker, faster, slimmer, and all round a better tablet. If you like your current Nexus 7 but want to go faster, this certainly looks to deliver. If you are looking for a tablet to use around the home and on the go, this is going to be hard to beat.

Stuart has been a tech journalist since 1998 and written for a number of publications around the world. Regularly turning up on television, radio and in newspapers, Stuart has played with virtually every gadget available.